Weekly Beat Issue 1: January 7, 2025
- Voice for Values
- Jan 7
- 3 min read
A Letter From Voice For Values Founder, Judy Stahl
To the Voice for Values Community,
Thank you for reading the inaugural issue of the Weekly Beat, Voice for Values’ new policy-focused newsletter. In this newsletter, we will provide our community with timely information on everything happening in Washington. Our team will bring forth professional analysis on how our elected officials are representing you, how their decisions will affect your daily life, and how you can take action on the issues you care most about.
When I founded Voice For Values, my mission was to empower voters with information and avenues for proactivity in our Democratic process. This newsletter is our next step to fulfilling that mission. It is my deepest hope that you, the Voice For Values community, will find the Weekly Beat to be both an informative resource and an inspiration to organize for change.
Onward & Upward,
Judy Stahl
Main Story: Trump Announces Jan 6. Pardons Minutes After Vote Certification
On Monday Morning, members of Congress gathered for a joint session presided over by Vice President Kamala Harris to certify the electoral votes of the 2024 election. After doing so Vice President Harris told the Washington Post that the certification was “about what should be the norm, and what the American people should be able to take for granted.”
Just minutes later, President-Elect Trump announced he would be pardoning the more than 1200 people who, four years ago yesterday, violently stormed the Capitol building, causing $2 million in damage, the assault of over 140 law enforcement officers and the deaths of five.
How do pardons work? Can Trump even do this?
Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution states the President “shall have the power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States.” The only exception to this clause is in the case of impeachment. This power is broad, and there are no formal qualifications that a recipient of clemency has to meet in order to receive a pardon. This means it is perfectly legal, though ill-advised and unpopular, for Trump to offer pardons to the Jan. 6 defendants.
That being said, a pardon does not erase a conviction. However, it does relieve the recipient of the legal consequences of their conviction. Any limitations on access to employment, weapons, voting, and more are completely erased with a pardon. Furthermore, pardons can be used to reduce or entirely commute prison sentences.
Our Take
Just because you can use a power, doesn’t mean you should. Traditionally, the pardon power has been limited to clear miscarriages of justice or as a signal of a President’s intention to shift justice policy.
Trump’s pardon announcement is a clear departure from this. The range of crimes Trump would be forgiving is vast. Many are simple misdemeanors. And many are violent felonies, of which several pleaded guilty outright, and those who didn’t were convicted beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of their peers. To broadly forgive these crimes without distinction, would signal that rule of law and due process does not matter in the Trump Administration, loyalty does.
That seems to be the running theme in Trump’s political ethos, loyalty to him above all else. That is the only reason Trump is considering these pardons, when any other President would look at the evidence used to convict and say, “absolutely not.” Broad forgiveness would signal to all that it’s okay to commit violence against the government, so long as it’s in support of Donald Trump.
Take Action: Contact the Office of the Federal Pardon Attorney
If you agree with our take on Trump’s pardon announcement, we urge you to contact the U.S. Federal Pardon Attorney, Elizabeth Oyer, and strongly state your opposition to Trump’s broad pardons. The Pardon Attorney is a non-political, career civil servant, who is responsible for reviewing pardon requests and making recommendations to the President. We strongly urge you to contact them at USPardon.Attorney@usdoj.gov with the following message:
Dear Attorney Oyer,
I, (Insert name here), strongly oppose the broad pardon of the more than 1200 individuals charged with crimes related to the Capitol breach on Jan 6th. These crimes represent a direct attack on our democratic process. Forgiveness of said crimes would send a signal to all that violent sedition is now a tolerated act. I urge you to recommend that the President does not issue broad pardons on behalf of the Capital Breach defendants, and under no circumstances should he pardon any convictions involving sedition or assault.
Respectfully,
Your name
Comments